Seeing Red: Which countries owe the most?

Since 2008, the global recession has threatened to topple the world's most developed and robust economies, and many wealthy nations are now in the red and saddled with the burdensome debt loads. Test your knowledge of how the economic crisis has affected people from Reno to Reykjavik with this quiz from HowStuffWorks.com.

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Question 1 of 20

Which country has the largest gross external debt in the world?

Greece

Japan

United States

More than $14 trillion in the red, the United States has the largest debt load on the planet.

Question 2 of 20

Which was the first European country to request a recession bailout from the International Monetary Fund?

Iceland

The global recession hasn't been a cake walk for any of these three countries, but Iceland was the first to need a bailout in 2008, following a series of bank failures.

Ireland

Italy

Question 3 of 20

The global recession adds up to roughly how much money in debt?

$40 trillion

According to calculations by The Economist magazine, countries around the world have racked up a total of $40 trillion in debt.

$80 trillion

$160 trillion

Question 4 of 20

Which of the following countries had a perfect AAA credit rating as of October 2011?

United States

France

Although credit-rating agencies had warned that France's finances were approaching the "danger zone," it retained a AAA rating as of October 2011.

Italy

Question 5 of 20

Which Nordic country received a credit rating boost in May 2011?

Sweden

Norway

Iceland

Recognizing Iceland's economic recovery following 2008 financial bailouts, the credit-rating agency Fitch upgraded its economic forecast from grim to stable in May 2011.

Question 6 of 20

In 2009, which African government decided to abandon its currency?

Niger

Zimbabwe

With hyperinflation rendering the Zimbabwe dollar virtually worthless, the government opted to abandon the currency and begin accepting more stable foreign currency, including the U.S. dollar, instead.

South Africa

Question 7 of 20

Which Caribbean nation has one of the largest public debt burdens in the world?

Bahamas

St. Kitts & Nevis

In September 2011, the International Monetary Fund agreed to a three-year loan program to help St. Kitts & Nevis dig itself out of one of the heaviest public debt loads in the world, equating to 185 percent of the island nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

Antigua and Barbuda

Question 8 of 20

Although Japan's public debt represents almost 200 percent of its GDP, the Asian country has a relatively low level of what type of debt?

Household debt

Private debt

External debt

Japan has limited its borrowing from foreign investors and governments, keeping its amount of external debt relatively low.

Question 9 of 20

According to CIA data, which country has the highest public debt as a percentage of GDP in the world?

Greece

Japan

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has struggled in recent years to rein in its public debt, which the CIA calculates as nearly 235 percent of its GDP -- the highest in the world.

Question 10 of 20

Going into the global recession in 2008, which European government had the least amount of debt?

Germany

Ireland

In 2008, the Irish government was among the lowest debt holders on the entire continent, but private sector debt was so high that the country quickly capitulated to the global recession crisis.

France

Question 11 of 20

Which country owns a majority of American debt?

China

Japan

The United States

Yes, the United States owes China more than $1 trillion, but it owes American financial institutions even more -- about $5 trillion more, in fact -- meaning the U.S. is mostly indebted to itself.

Question 12 of 20

Which country voted twice to not repay $5 billion in loans taken out for bank failures?

Greece

Iceland

In two referendums, the Icelandic people voted against a proposal to repay $5 billion in British and Dutch loans, putting the onus on the failed banks to repay their debts instead.

Netherlands

Question 13 of 20

In 2011, The Standard & Poor's (S&P) credit-rating agency ranked what country as its "least credit-worthy"?

Greece

Greece's financial meltdown has severely degraded its international credit and trading cache, and in 2011, the S&P named it the "least credit-worthy" government in its purview.

United States

Portugal

Question 14 of 20

Which European Union country has turned to China for recession assistance?

Spain

Italy

In an effort to manage its $2 trillion sovereign debt, Italy has turned to China as a potential foreign investor.

France

Question 15 of 20

Which country comes in second behind the United States for the shouldering largest amount of total debt?

Singapore

Barbados

Japan

Japan is burdened with more than $13 trillion in debt, the second largest tab in the global economy.

Question 16 of 20

The average American totes around how much in debt?

5,000

10,000

Debt management data from 2009 and 2010 calculated the average American debt load at $10,000.

12,000

Question 17 of 20

Which U.S. state has the highest debt per capita?

California

New Jersey

Delaware

As of February 2011, Delawareans were the most indebted, with people owing an average $20,000.

Question 18 of 20

In 2010, the Brookings Institute determined which U.S. city the most "recession-proof"?

Albany, N.Y.

As a government hub with a stable housing market and a local economy not dominated by the auto industry, Albany, New York, earned the top spot from the Brookings Institution think tank.

Austin, TX

Albuquerque, NM

Question 19 of 20

Name the following country with the lowest gross public debt:

Australia

Australia has the lowest gross public debt ($254 billion), followed by Brazil ($1.1 trillion) and the United Kingdom ($1.6 trillion).

Brazil

United Kingdom

Question 20 of 20

In 2010, the United States and Japan were the first and second richest countries in the world, respectively. What nation came in third?

China

Germany

According to global financial analysis based on 2010 data, Germany was the third-richest country in the world.